BackPAN-Aadhaar cards linking: 17 crore PAN cards could soon turn useless
Out of the 48 crore PAN card holders in India, more than 17 crore are yet to link it with their Aadhaar cardsOnce the income tax department declares all such PAN cards as inoperative, no one will be able to use them
PremiumNEW DELHI : Despite the income tax department having extended the deadline to link PAN (Permanent Account Number) card with Aadhaar card for eight times in the past, more than 17 crore PAN card holders are yet to link the two documents. After amendment in the Finance Bill, 2019, the income tax department has the authority to make all such PAN cards which are not linked to Aadhaar inoperative.
"If a person fails to intimate the Aadhaar number, the permanent account number allotted to such person shall be made inoperative after the notified date in the manner as may be provided by rules," reads Clause 41 of Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act. The amendment came into effect from 1 September, 2019. It is obvious that all such inoperative PAN cards will become useless unless linked to Aadhaar.
Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur has told the Lok Sabha that 30.75 crore PANs were linked to Aadhaar till January while 17.58 crore PAN card holders are yet to abide by the guidelines.
The due date to link the 10-digit alphanumeric number issued by the income tax department with UIDAI's 12-digit identification number has been extended from 31 December 2019 to 31 March 2020. "The extension of due date for linking of PAN with Aadhaar will benefit these PAN holders as they will get extra time to link their PANs with Aadhaar," Thakur said.
India has more than 48 crore PAN card holders while more than 120 crore Indians own Aadhaar cards. The two identity cards are now interchangeable for all purposes related to the income tax department but it is mandatory to link the two. If the two are not linked and you are using Aadhaar card in lieu of PAN, the income tax department might issue you a new PAN card automatically.
The mandatory linking of Aadhaar with PAN will not only help in de-duplication of PAN but will also prevent potential tax frauds and money-laundering.
How to link PAN with Aadhaar and check status:
To link your PAN with Aadhaar, you can visit the income tax department's e-filing portal and click on Link Aadhaar section on the left. You need to fill PAN number, Aadhaar number and name. The I-T department will validate your name, date of birth and gender against Aadhaar details after which the linking will be done.
If you are not sure whether your PAN is linked to Aadhaar, you can check the status here.
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.
